Collins-Yardies War
The Collins-Yardies War was a gang war between the Collins Crew and the Yardies in London. The war occurred in 2004 and concluded in the same year, due to the death of the Collins Crew and their leader, Jimmer Collins. Despite both gangs being involved in the Gang War of 2004, they had their own war going on between just the two of them which started in early 2004. History Before the War In 2002, the two gangs were both involved in the Gang War of 2002. Despite them both being enemies with each other, out of all the other gangs involved, they actually clashed the least. The Yardies were mainly against the Triads and had their own Triads-Yardies War. Both the Yardies and Triads clashed the most compared to any of the other gangs involved. The Triads also disliked the Collins gang because they believed they had stolen a statue from them. It is never confirmed that the Yardies in fact attacked the Collins gang at all during the Gang War of 2002, although both gangs eventually did clash on board the Sol Vita. Prior to this event though, the gangs weren't true enemies, but nor were they allies. It is likely though that Jamahl and his Yardies initially believed that Mark Hammond was still apart of the Collins gang and would have blamed them for the deaths of their men in Shoreditch. However, it's never seen that the Yardies and Collins gang had any altercation at all, apart from on board the Sol Vita. After the Sol Vita explosion, the leader of the Collins gang, Nick Collins, died in the explosion, but the Yardies gang leader, Jamahl, escaped alive. The death of Nick brought an end to the gang for two years, meaning there were no clashes between both gangs. Beginning of the War In 2004, Nick's younger brother, Jimmer Collins, was released from jail. After his release, he resurrected the Collins gang and renamed it the Collins crew. At this stage, the Collins crew and the Yardies had no problem with one another, but that would soon change. Once the Collins crew were up and running, Jimmer started getting his gang involved in the drug game. He employed his men to start dealing cocaine on Yardie turf territory. This angered Jamahl, who felt that the gang were stealing his customers from him. This action provoked Jamahl, who then declared war on the Collins crew. Neither gang had ever really been friends and the action of dealing cocaine in his territory caused Jamahl to snap and declare the Collins crew his enemy. Both gangs became official enemies and started attacking one another, with each gang competing for control within London. Middle of the War The Yardies attacked Collins crew interiors. A group of Yardies were sent to Peter Street in Soho in order to attack Hector's Place, an illegal casino and pornography studio which was run by the Collins crew. The two gangs clashed on Peter Street outside in a vicious gun battle. Both sides suffered casualties during this specific attack. A number of other gang wars and attacks happened in 2004. The gang wars between both gangs became of knowledge to the police and SO19, who started making arrests and raids on both gangs in order to stop the war and prevent further casualties. Each side suffered heavy losses in the war. End of the War The Collins crew ultimately was no longer what is once had been. Jimmer lacked the experience his older brother had possessed and started running the firm into the ground. The gang made their final mistake when they organised a robbery at a bank which was part of the Thieves in Law, a new Russian gang moving into the city. Jamahl and his Yardies had already heard of the Russians. Wanting to move away from drugs and onto guns, Jamahl had met the gang leader, Viktor Skobel, and the two of them made a deal. Both gangs became allies and friends, and started doing business, with Jamahl due to buy weapons from the gang in the future. This alliance brought an end to the Collins crew. After the bank heist, the Thieves in Law tracked the Collins crew down after they found out they had been partially responsible. A large number of the Collins crew were wiped out at a boxing gym by the Russians. Jimmer lost some of his top lieutenants and fled to his printing works. He was tracked down however and executed by the Thieves in Law, which brought an end to the gang and thus ended the Collins-Yardies War. Follow up The Yardies therefore won the war against the Collins crew, even though they themselves didn't end it personally. Their allies, the Thieves in Law, won the war for them. Trivia * The war outcome is similar to the Triads-Yardies War. The Yardies win both gang wars but they themselves aren't the ones to personally win them, another gang does the job for them. Category:Gang Wars Category:Collins Gang Category:Yardies